Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/501762
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m M a y - J u n e 2 015 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 8 3 "The idea behind our program is to show wines at various stages, so we might have our Sauvignon Blanc that had just been crushed and had that on tap," Rosser said. "We have other (wines) that have been just bottled or are still in bar- rel. We have some Cab blends, and we'll break apart the components. We'll pour just the Merlot or just the Malbec and tell people that this will eventually go into a blend." Rosser said that at Pali, the wine-on-tap program offers more unique wines to both locals and regular visitors. Pali also sells refill- able growlers of the tap wines, to keep locals coming back for more. "It's more of a specialty kind of thing," she said. Rosser added that Pali would like to start a similar tap growler program at its other tasting facility in Lompoc. "They're popular, and it seems to be growing," she said. A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH One winery that opted for a com- prehensive wine-on-tap approach for its tasting room is Amigoni Winery in Kansas City, Mo. Amigoni makes wines primarily from grapes grown within Missouri, producing them at its urban facility in Kansas City. When Kerry and Michael Amigo- ni were planning their tasting room in 2011 and 2012, they had a few restaurants inquire as to whether they had plans to offer keg wines for sale. "We decided if we were going to keg wines, we needed to provide (them) for our custom- ers here behind the bar, as well as for restaurants in the community," Kerry said. The winery isn't doing a huge k e g b u s i n e s s f o r o n - p r e m i s e accounts at this point, but interest is growing. "There are three or four commercial locations outside of our tasting room that have our wines on tap all of the time," she said, noting that most Amigoni wines are still sold in bottles. + Serving wine on tap has become popular not only in wine bars, but also in winery tasting rooms. + Serving from kegs offers savings in reduced packaging costs, recycling waste and wine lost to spoilage. + A properly managed tap system can deliver consistently fresh wine at a consistent temperature and in the proper condition. + Growler programs can build local loyalty by delivering novelty and value to return customers. + Winery remnants can be isolated or re-blended for special tap-only offerings. AT A GLANCE Pali Wine Co.'s tap system allows the winery to present the wines to custom- ers at different stages of development.